


A Breath of Fresh Air

by Matori_Holmes



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie), Wanda Maximoff-centric, actually I don't even know if there's actual comfort in this, more hurt than comfort?, obviously Vision is the major character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:22:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29577459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Matori_Holmes/pseuds/Matori_Holmes
Summary: How it angered her when killing Ultron wasn't enough to get rid of this weight again, this … suffocating feeling. Thus Wanda stayed, letting herself fall, wanting—needing—this feeling to disappear. And then it saved her. No, not it—he. He saved her. No words spoken between them but he held her gingerly despite the both of them knowing how she could easily push him away, to make him stay in one position as she let herself fall down to the Earth and end her pain if she wished to do so.
Relationships: Wanda Maximoff/Vision
Comments: 2
Kudos: 21





	A Breath of Fresh Air

**Author's Note:**

> It's been some time since I made a fanfiction and WandaVision feels been hitting me hard. I didn't have anyone to proof-read this so apologies if there are some mistakes here and there.

**Post-AoU until Infinity War.**

* * *

Suffocated.

That was the word Wanda associated with herself since she was a young orphaned girl.

She didn't know that word when Stark's bomb went through her home, when she lost her parents, when she huddled with her twin in that cramped space. But that was the word best described her then.

Wanda remembered the invisible weight on her chest and how Pietro held her hand so tightly as if she was going to slip away at any second like their parents did. She thought the dust and lack of space were the only reason she found it hard to breathe.

The weight stayed even when the rescue team found them. And it took some time for her to realize: there will be no more of her father's smile; no more of her mother's laughter; there won't be any lullabies and kisses before they go to sleep; no more hugs before they go to school. She had cried against Pietro's chest for hours, crying even harder when he tried to soothe her by singing off tune of one of the lullabies their parents would sing for them. By the time Wanda's crying turned into sniffles, Pietro's shirt was soaked and so was Wanda's shoulder. She held Pietro's shaking body tightly as he shuddered and held back his own sobs. They only had each other now and they must protect one another.

And, oh, how it angered her when she thought that they could stand alone when they fought Ultron. How it angered her when killing Ultron wasn't enough to get rid of this weight again, this … suffocating feeling. Thus Wanda stayed, letting herself fall, wanting— _needing—_ this feeling to disappear. And then it saved her. No, not it— _he._ He saved her. No words spoken between them but he held her gingerly despite the both of them knowing how she could easily push him away, to make him stay in one position as she let herself fall down to the Earth and end her pain if she wished to do so.

Yet she let him save her. She let him give her hope. She let him believe she had a chance to rid this pain in another way.

Wanda believed The Avengers wanted to help her but they were all quite wary with her at first (expected, considering she didn't really give a good first impression on them). Well … all were wary but two: Clint Barton and Vision.

The man with the bow and arrow had been there, had seen Pietro's sacrifice. And Wanda choked up when he told her the name of his newborn son. He barely knew Pietro and her yet he cared so much. "What can I say, kid," he sighed, "I got a soft spot for people who went through too much pain." And for a moment Wanda wondered what his worst fear was.

Vision, on the other hand, was … awkwardly friendly, she supposed. He could easily process all the information in the world and yet he had little experience of the real world. He kept making small conversation with her ("The weather today is wonderful, is it not, Wanda?" or "How was your training, Wanda?" or "Wanda, I hope you will join us for this … movie night … that Sam seems to be excited about." And it took a few attempts for her to make him stop calling her Miss Maximoff _—_ it reminded her too much of her family). It amused her sometimes when he seemed to be confused or interested with people's actions. She also thought it was … a breath of fresh air.

Wanda had spent so much time around people who were always thinking about what they perceive as the most important thing, always moving and planning and talking and debating. And here was Vision, most of the time silent and constantly observing. Although each time he spoke, it's always steady and well thought. A calming presence in this ever fast-paced world.

"Vision seems to really like being around you," Natasha said after their sparring. The remark caught Wanda off guard. "I know that he's been trying to get to know everyone around the compound," she continued after taking a swig from her bottle, "but when he's with you, he's more at ease." Was he? Wanda wondered. "And you seem at ease around him too." That bristled her slightly. "He's easy to talk to," Wanda admitted, "and he … doesn't try to fill the silence." Natasha shrugged and nodded. "True. But I think he cares about you more than he knows." Before Wanda could pry more of what Natasha meant, the agent had left the room.

But the answer came when Wanda woke up gasping, tears running down her cheeks, and she almost screamed when Vision phased into her room with a small frown on his face. "Wanda, I heard …" he trailed off when she sat up and wiped away the tears hastily. "Did you … have a nightmare, Wanda?" She thinned her lips and looked down at her lap, waiting for him to question her what was it she dreamed of. "Would you like to go and watch a movie with me, Wanda?" Wanda frowned at the question. "Or would you prefer something else to distract you?" She looked up then and his stance was … very guarded. "We can go watch a movie," Wanda agreed as she got up and walked out of the room with him.

They ended up watching one of the many sitcom collections which Stark had after Wanda perused through the DVD drawer. It pushed away the memory of her nightmare and it was nice to laugh once in a while. It was even nicer to hear Vision's chuckles and to see him frowning at certain jokes before realization dawned over his face. Wanda wished she could stop time and just … pretend that she's a normal girl watching all these silly shows with her (occasionally) clueless yet intelligent friend.

It became their somewhat routine whenever Wanda woke up from a nightmare. The first few times, Vision kept phasing into her room when he sensed her distress. She had to remind him that that wasn't polite. So he started knocking first. Then he phased if Wanda took too long to open the door. Vision never asked her and Wanda never told him about her nightmares.

"Okay, who's been watching all the sitcoms and messed up the DVD order in the drawer? Unless Rogers feels the need to know American comedy throughout the decades again," Stark said when they were about to start movie night. Steve frowned at the accusation as he sat down on the chair next to the couch. "It's probably Vision," Sam chimed in as he plopped down on the couch, squeezing himself between Natasha and Stark, while balancing a bowlful of popcorn on his lap, "I saw him going through the DVDs a few nights ago." Stark raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at Vision and Wanda gave him an apologetic look from the other end of the couch for messing it up when placing them back. "Yes, it is true of what Sam said and I apologise for placing them in the wrong order after I've finished, Mr. Stark." Stark snorted in response. "Guess android makes small mistakes too," he muttered and Natasha shushed him as the movie was about to start.

Wanda cursed herself for sitting too far from Vision. She wanted to ask if he's been going through some of the sitcoms to know which ones she might enjoy for "distraction". Then she thought that the distance didn't matter. Tentatively, her mind reached out for him and when she noticed him blinking rapidly, she called out, " _Vis?_ " She had started to use the little nickname during their time together and he seemed to be unbothered by it.

They glanced at each other before looking at the TV again as Sam started telling them a little trivia about the movie. " _Yes, Wanda?_ " he answered, calm and always soothing.

" _Sorry I didn't put them back in the right place._ "

" _I_ _t's alright, Wanda. As the saying goes: no harm done._ "

A chuckle escaped her but she quickly covered it with a cough when Steve turned to look at her. "Want me to get you some water?" Steve asked, already standing up. "No, I'm fine—"

"Oh, get me a beer too," Sam cut in. "And make some more popcorn before the billionaire boy finishes up mine!" Stark rolled his eyes as he kept taking a handful of popcorn from the bowl. Steve sighed at their antics before going to the kitchen.

" _Was there something funny about what I thought, Wanda?_ "

" _No … it's the way you phrase it._ "

She glanced just in time to see him frown. " _Not that it's a bad thing. It's very you, Vis._ " His frown only deepened at that. " _I liked it. I like the way you phrase it._ " A small smile appeared on his face and her chest warmed. " _I am glad of that._ " They went back to focusing on the movie.

Steve came back with a glass of water and a pack of beer (the latter quickly earned the attention of Sam and Natasha). "Where's the popcorn?" Sam asked before taking a swig of his beer. "We're out of it," Steve said. "I won't mind going out to buy them, Captain Rogers," Vision said and Wanda gulped down on her water quickly. "I'll go with you," Wanda said and she felt everyone's eyes falling onto her but she kept her eyes on Vision.

"Yeah, actually that's a good idea. Let the kids go out from the compound once a while," Stark said after no one said a word (and the sound of the movie filling the room), "both of you can _fly_ , right? So no one needs any car to go to the nearest store."

"It's in walking distance, Tony," Natasha said with a chuckle, "you're making it sound like it's miles away. Just be careful, you two; some people might take photos of you for their obsession towards us." The pair walked out of the room without another word.

"We can just walk," Wanda said as she crossed her arms across her chest, pulling her jacket tighter. "We can," Vision said, "but if we fly, we can reach our destination 4.3 minutes faster, Wanda." He was still 'wearing' his casual wear. "I want us to walk, Vision." And he nodded in answer.

Halfway to the store, Wanda finally asked, "Have you been choosing which sitcoms' episodes that I might enjoy, Vis?" He froze for a second before nodding. "I've noticed the elements in the sitcoms that you enjoyed most for your distraction. I hope it would ease your mind and you would have ... less nightmares to go through." A small part of her hated the thought of not having nightmares anymore. It would mean no more nights of distraction with Vision. Of course they could easily watch it during the day but … when it's night, her world consisted of just them.

"How is it you never asked me about my nightmares?" Wanda asked the question that had bugged her for weeks. "Captain Rogers told me that it's better not to ask of someone's nightmare," Vision said, "and certain distractions can help ease away the nightmares. I found him in the training room when he had woken up from his own nightmare. It was his form of distraction." It only occured now to Wanda that Vision didn't really need sleep.

"I often find myself wandering around the compound because I don't sleep like humans do," Vision suddenly said, as if knowing what Wanda just thought. "And I am … oddly grateful that I passed your room that night and that you accepted my suggestion. I have been reading books and watching several movies and shows to help me understand humans. I enjoy the fact that I can share some of these moments with you, Wanda." She smiled at his confession. "I like hanging out with you, too, Vision." They shared a comfortable silence on the way to the store and back to the compound.

It was days later when Wanda had a video call with Clint. She talked about how her training as an Avenger was going and several of the missions she had and he told her about his 'boring' life in the countryside (a life that Wanda secretly envied). "So I heard from Nat that you've been getting close with the red tall android," Clint said and Wanda had guessed this was coming. "He's been getting close with everyone," Wanda retorted. That earned a small scoff from him. "Nat also pointed out you've been spending late nights watching sitcoms with him."

"How—"

"Surveillance cameras, Wanda. Nat didn't tell you?"

"It's … nothing, really," Wanda huffed, "I get nightmares and he'll ask if I want to join him watch some TV shows or movies, something to distract me from it."

"Hey, you know you can talk to me or Nat about it, too, right? Heck, even Sam or Steve. Maybe not Tony," Clint chuckled and Wanda smiled slightly.

"He never asks me about the nightmares. He just helps me not to think about it. And I don't want to think about it, Clint." But deep down she wondered if Vision wanted to know. Deep down, she wanted to talk about it.

So the next time the same nightmare woke her up and Vision knocked on her door, she told him to come in. "I want to tell you about it," Wanda said after she asked him to sit down next to her on the bed. "It's always the same," she began after Vision sat up a little straighter.

"It begins the same way every time; the bomb going through our apartment." She kept her eyes trained on Vision's, too scared to close her eyes and see the nightmare flash through her mind. "And then … Pietro holding me, telling me we'll be okay. Next thing I know, we're in the streets and I … I'm frozen in spot, forced to watch him die, to see the bullets going through his body and I could do nothing. I had no powers to stop them and then there's this … bright yellow light that I try to reach for and yet I can't," Wanda placed a hand atop her chest while her other hand twisted the blanket, her throat constricted, "all I could feel was this … this weight pulling me down. It was … it was what I felt when I almost surrendered before you saved me. Except this time you … weren't there."

Vision reached out his hand and wiped the tears that had started to flow again. His warm hand lingered before going back to his lap. "I'm sorry to hear that, Wanda," he whispered. "Would you … like me to stay and do something else with you?" Wanda shook her head. "We can go watch sitcoms again, Vision," she told him, wiping away a stray tear, "I just wanted you to know." And for the first time during their little ritual, Wanda fell asleep against his shoulder and woke up confused as to how she got back in her bed.

"You know you can watch those sitcoms with him during the day, right?" Natasha said as they were getting ready to go to Lagos for a mission. Wanda shrugged in response. She had told Natasha about her nightmare too and Natasha was more than understanding with how she dealt with it. "I like watching it with Vis after everyone's asleep; no distractions." Natasha's eyes widened slightly. "Huh, you're the first one I know who gave him a decent nickname." Wanda felt her face heating up. She forgot she had yet to call him Vis in front of everyone else.

She thought everything in her life was going well now but the universe said otherwise. Wanda felt it again: suffocation. This time she knew she was in the wrong. This time, she was the bomb she hated years ago. Everyone tried to assure her it wasn't her fault but she knew what she saw and the news repeated the footage over and over again. She lost control of her power.

Everything went downhill so quickly; the Sokovia Accords, her being imprisoned in the compound, Steve's agenda that was against Stark's broke the Avengers just when she only started to think that there's hope for a better life. Wanda thought that was it: she was better off this way, imprisoned and away from people.

It hurt her when Vision chose Stark's side. It hurt her to push him away quite literally. It hurt her when he promised to protect her and yet he didn't. It hurt her that the breath of fresh air she had went away just as quickly as the suffocation came back.

It took a long time for her to see clearly after Steve rescued her and everyone else from the raft, taking them to Wakanda where they will be safe. She realized Vision's way of seeing life was still black and white and he only thought of what was best for the society. Wanda forgave him but the hurt stayed, the suffocation had become a lingering feeling she accepted. She thought Germany was the last time she would ever see him until they met during one of her missions.

It wasn't … him 'him' _—_ he was in this human version of himself. She had sensed his mind stone before she saw him. He looked just as shocked to see her. She stayed away from him but he caught up to her, apologizing for what he did, explaining what went through his mind when he agreed with the Accords, and next thing she knew, she asked him to fly with her, away from the people and so she could see him as Vision.

He told her that he was doing a mission too and he won't pry about where she was staying just as long as she assured him that wherever she's taking refuge was a safe place. And it was nice to hear him again, to hear his calm voice again, to feel that weightless feeling again. "I miss you, Wanda," he eventually said after telling her of what had been happening during the time of the disappearance of the rest of the Avengers. "I miss us," he told her almost in a whisper. And she hugged him in the air, hiding her face against his neck because she didn't want him to see her cry at his confession.

" _I miss you, too, Vis._ "

At first, they didn't make promises to meet again. They let chance lead the way. Until that one time they had to part again after their own missions. "I don't want you to leave," Wanda muttered as she held him tightly, unwilling to board the train where she'll meet Sam and go over the information they obtained. "Neither do I, Wanda, but we have to," he told her, holding her in that careful way. She looked up at him before looking around the deserted station. "Show me yourself, Vis," she told him and he frowned before revealing his true self. And before she lost her courage, she leaned up and let her lips brush his. He stiffened when she pulled away but he kept her in his hold. "Wanda," he whispered yet he said nothing else before leaning down to kiss her again, pressing his lips softly against hers as she traced the vibranium trail from his neck to his head. Her heart beat wildly every time he pulled away slightly, letting them catch their breath before surging for another kiss. The train be damned.

And so they made a deal to meet up every month and spend a week together. Wanda promised Steve that she'd stay under the radar, she'll check in once awhile, and that she only needed some time away from Wakanda. He was unsure at first but after some coaxing from Natasha, he agreed to it. Vision apparently had been straight-forward about his situation to Stark and he had agreed quite easily, much to Wanda's surprise, and gave Vision one of his credit cards to "enjoy himself and evolve". As much as she disliked Stark, she was thankful for his understanding and she supposed he would've been quick to know what Vision was up to. Even Steve, Natasha, and Sam found out after some time but they pretended not to know.

The couple would spend their time visiting places they've never been before and when they're in the hotel, they'll end up watching random sitcoms before disregarding it for a make-out session which sometimes lead to something more. She slept peacefully with him holding her, feeling his warmth enveloping her. Wanda wished she could have these moments forever.

Wanda never said the three little words because she feared that she would end up losing him, too. Just like she lost her parents and her twin. But he knew, though. Vision knew she loved him just as she knew he loved her.

And she was foolish to think that she had all the time in the world to be with him. This time, her nightmare happened but instead of Pietro, instead of bullets … it was Vision and this titan. Here she was, forced to watch him die in front of her eyes. She was powerless against him, against the infinity stones.

This time, she wasn't merely suffocated. There was this hollowness. An endless nothingness as she clutched Vision's corpse.

And, oh, how Wanda wished there was someone who would come to her and say, "I can rid this pain for you," and she'll take it. She'll take that chance regardless of the price.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you, uh, enjoyed this weird little piece, I guess?
> 
> You can chat me up on Tumblr (or I don't know; talk about WandaVision or whatever—I want friends, there I said it): [herewegoroundthepricklypear](https://herewegoroundthepricklypear.tumblr.com).


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